A Sad Day in Mayberry

Just a few months after the death of TV actor George Lindsey, the star of the beloved TV sitcom, Andy Griffith, died today at the age of 86. It's a sad day for Mayberry.

Although I enjoyed The Andy Griffith Show, especially in black and white (I became disinterested once the show was in color and Opie was a teenager), I also loved other aspects of Andy Griffith's work.

One of his funniest performances was recorded instead of televised. I first heard it on an airplane, via those little radios in the airplane arm rest. I was flying to England in the seventh grade when I first heard "What It Was, Was Football."

 

I thought Griffith was so funny the way he carried on about people tossing around that little pumpkin on that pretty little cow pasture with prisoners running around blowing whistles. For years I looked for other comedy sketches Griffith recorded, but I never found one.

After eight years starring in his eponymous show, Andy Griffith tried playing different roles to break out of that wholesome Andy Taylor character. I believe Matlock was one attempt to do so, but Ben Matlock was also kind of a wholesome character, so I don't know if Griffith felt if he'd succeeded with that attempt or not.  But he sure had a lot of viewers.

Although most people are familiar with his role as Ben Matlock, not as many people are familiar with one of his more recent roles in the 2007 Adrienne Shelly film, Waitress. In the film, Griffith played Old Joe, a crotchety restaurant owner, so picky about his pie that he only let Keri Russell's character serve it to him.

Old Joe was my favorite character in that movie.  I've watched it several times.

But my favorite Griffith role was one of the Ritz Cracker pitch man. At the end of the commercial, Griffith would say, "Mm, mm! Good cracker. Good cracker." Sabra and I used to imitate that a lot. In fact, not too long ago, we talked on the phone about that commercial. I never could imitate that "mm, mm" the same way Andy Griffith could say it.

But then again, I could never whistle the Andy Griffith theme song either.